I'm a horrible cook - horrible, horrible, nasty cook. But from time to time I will whip something up in the food processor, steam something to the best of my ability or even just mix something up for Katalin.

Her food is Firstmate kibble - but she gets the occasional mix of this as a treat once in a while:

*One gala apple or several small cooking apples from our tree in season
*Marinated or plain chicken meat - about half as much as the quantity of apple
*Honey (if not available it's substituted for a small amount of brown sugar)
*A dash of cinnamon

It's just mixed up in the food processor then mashed up with a spoon with the latter two ingredients stirred in.

I make real simple treats by mixing anyof the following with oatmeal, spreading the mixture out on a cookie sheet and baking.

canned pumpkin
banana
peanutbutter
applesauce
canned dog food

For Caleb's birthday, I use some of the mixture to make a muffin. I put some parchment paper on the cookie sheet for easy clean up. After they're coled, I use a pizza wheel to cut it into strips. I keep the strips in a bag in the freezer, pulling out a couple at a time as I need them. They defrost pretty quickly.

Non-baking treats- I chop up some fruit in the blender, and freeze in Italian Ice containers or ice cube trays.

1 container (not sure of the size...just those little round containers in the grocery store) of chicken livers

2 cups oat flour (if you have it, otherwise, regular flour)

1 egg

1 glove garlic

sprinkling of Parmesan cheese

In my Vita mix (not sure if it will work in a regular blender) I put in the chicken livers and the egg and puree that.

On my planer, I mince up the garlic and mix that in the mixture

Dump into a big bowl and gradually add in the flour...mix well

Sprinkle parmesan on top or you can mix it all in. Just a little bit, like maybe 1/8 cup or so...gives it a really nice smell. (for dogs) LOL

Spread into well greased 9x11 Pyrex or other casserole baking dish

Bake at 350 F for about 1/2 hour or until sides pull away from edges of pan.

Cut into 1/4 inch or as small as you can get the pieces.

Cool on paper towel.

You can freeze in little baggies...just enough for 2-3 days worth. Refrigerate what you're using for a couple days.

Variations: You could grate up some carrot or toss in some blueberries if you like. If your dog isn't sensitive, you can throw in a couple fish oil capsules. Or even some fish! The sky is the limit.

__________________"If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams 1776

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

My home made training treats/bait for Enda. 1 chicken breast, cut into strips, place in frying pan, lightly season (pepper or garlic they usually like), cook thoroughly, voila! Easy bait. You can also put it in the oven and bake to make them less greasy/moist, but you might have to add a little extra seasoning for the picky eaters (like my girl). I also do this with liver, what ever kind, put in frying pan, season, treats!

Chicken livers you can do in the blender. But I learned the hard way that calf liver will burn the motor up in one.

Wow! Holy cow! That is a darn shame. Well, I guess you better stay away from calf livers.

I just noticed that I wrote "glove" instead of "clove." Oh dear....I'm losin' it.

Some of your recipes look good enough to serve guests.

__________________"If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams 1776

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

Yep- that's when I started using chicken livers for that particular recipe. Which, btw, is easy. Only heads up is that it uses corn bread mix.

Liver Bread
Mix Jiffy cornbread mix, a pound of raw liver (pureed), an egg and some garlic powder, put in greased pan, bake according to corn bread directions on box.

I think people hear that corn is no good in dog food and they think it's bad for them, but it isn't really bad. It won't hurt them at all unless they're allergic or they have some particular sensitivity. It's just that some of these cheap dog foods have so much corn that they're not getting enough meat and so forth. But corn isn't some evil thing that's going to poison dogs. lol.

__________________"If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams 1776

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."